I have to thank the folks at Shaw Industries for including me on their recent tour of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during its dealer council meeting in Memphis. Getting to tour that facility was eye opening for me and for the dealers who attended, not to mention the Shaw folks who had not yet had the chance to do so.

You expect a place with ill children to be in some way sad. While it’s sobering to see children that are clearly ill with very serious diseases, it’s enlightening and joyful to see that they are still children in every way. That’s part of St. Jude’s mission — to see that they get to have a childhood while recovering from illness.

The first night of our visit, we were honored to help throw a party at Target House for the patients and their families. Target House (donated by Target) is a beautiful apartment building that has 96 units. It is intended for patients who will be in Memphis under treatment for longer than 90 days. Some patients stay for more than a year.

Target House is lovely and comfortable and designed with the children in mind. Teenagers have their own room, for example. There is a music room, a recreation room, plenty of space to read and play. At the party, the children got their faces painted, ate snow cones, played volleyball — with some very agile dealers. The cutest thing was watching them sing karaoke. Yes they are sick, but because of St. Jude they have a childhood and a great chance at adulthood down the road.

Danny Thomas founded St. Jude as both a hospital and a research facility. That’s the genius of it. The researchers, who are also working on illnesses like Parkinson’s Disease, can treat each patient’s case individually. Pediatric cancer survival rates have gone from 20 percent to 80 percent. St Jude aims to take it to 100 percent.

The hospital is a hospital — no way around it. But it also is beautifully decorated with children in mind. There is great sadness; there is great happiness. It’s real life.
The amazing thing about all of this is that the patients don’t have to pay for anything. St. Jude treats more than 5,000 kids a year. If they have to stay in Memphis, they stay for free. Should a family have insurance, the hospital won’t use it all.

It’s an amazing story and one that I’m particularly proud to have been able to see first hand. How it will translate into a business decision is anyone’s guess. I think first and foremost Shaw’s decision was made because it was looking for a cause it could give to. The marketing issue is secondary.

But the demographic evidence is strong that target flooring consumers can relate to it, according to Shaw’s marketing team. If the reaction that I saw from the dealer council members is any indication, this will resonate with retailers as well. Sometimes we get all wrapped up in business. It’s nice to pull back and remember that there are people out there who need help. When business can help, that’s a win for everyone.